Onboard domestics Lindsay McRory November 6, 1995 (Editor's Note: Lindsay and Denise McRory, along with their children Kita and Wesley, have returned to the Hakuna Matata waiting in Norfolk, Virginia. After months of preparation--a lifetime, really--they boarded the boat on November 1 to begin their great voyage.) Fixing the oozing holding tank consisted of pumping out the remaining contents in the tank at a pump-out station. Then, using a hose, everything below the floor boards was sprayed down directly into the bilge. We used a hand pump to move the bilge water (more like brown slush) to a large bucket, then carried the bucket to the land toilets for a proper flush. It was sort of like trapped spirits waiting to be freed. After the gross stuff was gone, it was lots of hard scrubbing with diluted bleach and a citrus-based cleaner. We're hoping that an epoxy patch on the bottom of the holding tank provides a temporary solution. We marked another boat experience that would not soon be forgotten. The first couple of days back on the boat are always sore and stiff. In land-based living, exercise is a separate activity from working or commuting. On the boat, it's intertwined with everything you do. Stretching, lifting, bending, walking, pulling, and pushing start in the morning and continue till bedtime. You can feel the changes in your bones, as well as your diet. Hakuna Matata's sails and awnings were still at the sail loft getting repaired from the trashing we took on the previous leg. This new, bare look confused the kids, but gave them new ways of moving around from the cockpit to the deck. The rest of the day was spent putting on the newly repaired equipment, remounting the life raft and man-overboard gear, and setting the dinghy on the davits (the boat lift). Kita and Wesley are starting to get back into the day-to-day lifestyle on board. All the school correspondence material is the usual paper workbook style. Computer educational software is used to supplement the regular curriculum. This morning they spent two hours working on kids' phonics.